Coupler operating device



April 7, 1964 P. J. LAHEY COUPLER OPERATING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 18, 1963 R W W m 49 fi/fi v 56 .55 64 66 6572 711 f4 Par/6! Jzm April 7, 1964 P. J. LAHEY COUPLER OPERATING DEVICE Filed Jan. 18; 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Par/eerJZa/zqg April 7, 1964 P. J. LAHEY 3,127,997

COUPLER OPERATING DEVICE Filed Jan. 18, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 COUPLE/f INVENTOR.

P. J. LAHEY COUPLER OPERATING DEVICE April 7, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 18, 1963 INVENTOR.

Parker BY JZa/igg 476 P. J. LAHEY COUPLER OPERATING DEVICE April 7, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 18, 1963 IN Vf y TOR Parker JL w w w United States Patent 3,127,997 COUPLER OFERATING DEVICE Parker John Lahey, hicago, IIL, assignor to Stanray Corporation, Chicago, 13]., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 253,025 7 Claims. (Cl. 213-166) This invention relates to railway car coupler operating mechanisms. More specifically the invention relates to a particular type of operating lever for operating the coupler upon rotation of the lever in a counterclockwise direction, and to a bracket for rotatably supporting the outer end of the operating lever for convenient manipulation by a trainman from the side of the car.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 168,489, filed January 24, 1962, now forfeited.

Due to loss and damage to lading carried by the railroads, which loss has been steadily increasing, ways and means of reducing the same have been studied. A good deal of the damage comes from impact shocks to the car and accordingly there has been developed a sliding center sill underframe with a cushioning arrangement for railway cars which would have little or no recoil and which would allow a considerable amount of travel of the sliding sill at all impact speeds, thereby to better protect the commodities carried within the car. This is the most important phase of the problem. To reduce damage from impact shocks it became apparent that freight cars had to have greater cushioning capacity.

Damage to lading is the result of too rapid acceleration and deceleration of the car in which the lading is carried. To reduce the effects of too rapid acceleration and deceleration of the car, greater distance and time to effect the change in velocity were required. This necessitated the use of a sliding center sill with a hydraulic cushioning device therein.

Couplers installed in this type of center sill arrangement have been made to move forward and backward a greater and greater distance. Whereas they would move in the ordinary draft gear arrangement some 7 inches or so, with the sliding center sill types the couplers move 52 inches, and in the most recent types 65 inches and more. This meant greater side swing of the couplers when the cars are rounding curves. This invention is concerned with the more recent types of underframes.

Therefore the principal object of the invention is to provide an operating lever for a bottom operating coupled, mounted in a sliding center sill underframe construction with cushioning medium, wherein the coupler face moves longitudinally a total of 65 /2 inches between extreme buff and extreme draft positions and may swing 15 or so on either side of the center line of the car. To meet these conditions, the length of the operating rod must contract to 38 inches when the coupler is in extreme buff position and extend to 97 inches when the coupler is in extreme draft position, while maintaining the operating handle for the device at all times within 12 inches of the side of the car.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description thereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing forming part of this application and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of one form of the invention showing in dotted lines the full but? and full draft positions of the coupler, and the angling of the lever to accommodate these positions when the coupler moves approximately 52 inches.

FIGURE 2 is a front view of FIGURE 1, looking at the end of a car.

3,127,997 Patented Apr. 7, 1964 ice FIGURE 3 is an end elevation of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 of a modified form of the invention to aliow approximately 66 inches of coupler travel between extreme buff and extreme draft positions.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 6 is a front view of FIGURE 4 looking at the end of a car.

FIGURE 7 is an end view of FIGURE 6 partially broken away.

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of a further modification of the coupler operating device and its supporting bracket, showing fragmentary portions of the car with which the device is used, and indicating in dotted lines the extreme travel positions of the coupler, said extreme travel being about 66 inches.

FIGURE 9 is a section on the line 99 of FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 10 is an elevational view looking at the end of the car, showing the coupler operating device supported at its handle end by the bracket.

FIGURE 11 is a section on the line 1111 of FIG- URE 8.

FIGURE 12 is an end view of FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 13 is a section on the line 1313 of FIG- URE 8.

In the drawings and referring first to the modification shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, 10 indicates the end of a car to which the device is applied, and 12 indicates the striker to which the car coupler is assembled and which is attached to the center sill of the car. Since the coupler operating rod or lever is pivotally attached at one end to the lock lifter of the coupler for rotating and lifting the lock lifter to unlock the coupler, and at the other end is mounted in a bracket secured to the end of the car, it is obvious that the bracket and the rod or lever must be constructed so as to compensate for the wide swing and long travel of couplers mounted in a sliding center sill underframe with a cushioning arrangement.

In FIGURES 1 to 3, the operating rod or lever for such couplers is formed in three parts, the inner part 14, the intermediate part 15, and the outer or handle part 16. The bracket for mounting the outer part of the lever to the car is shown generally at 18. This bracket comprises an angle member having a vertical flange 20, which flange is riveted or otherwise secured to the end of the car. The other flange 22 is horizontally disposed, projecting outwardly normally as shown.

At either outer corner of the horizontal flange 22 is a J-shaped member, each having a top horizontal flange 24 which rests fiatwise against and is secured to the flange 22. At the outer end of flanges 24 the members are turned downwardly providing a vertical flange 26 which terminates in upwardly facing U-bends forming stirrups 23 for rotatably receiving the outer part 16 of the operating lever. The stirrups 28 are spaced about seventeen inches apart so as to accommodate movement of the intermediate lever portion 15 in following the sidewise and lengthwise relative movement of coupler to car body.

It will be noted that the inner stirrup 28 is mounted at a greater distance from the car end than the outer stirrup so that an extension of the axis of the two stirrups inwardly would approximate the midpoint of travel of the coupler. The distance the device must extend depends upon the length of travel of the cushion underframe, the striker opening or lateral swing of the coupler, the length of the coupler shank, the striker projection from end sill, and the angle of axis of the stirrups to the end sill.

The outer part 16 of the operating rod comprises a depending handle portion 40, and a hairpin shaped portion consisting of two parallel horizontally disposed portions 42 and 44 connected by a U-bend 46. The free end of portion 44 terminates at the handle portion 40 to which it is secured by welding or the like. Either horizontal portion 42 or 44 may rest in the stirrups 28 of the bracket, but in the modification shown in FIG- URES 1 to 3 it is the lower portion 44 that is positioned in the stirrups 23. One reason for this is that the rotation of the rod is counterclockwise when viewed from the handle end, and means must be provided to prevent clockwise rotation of the rod. Thus in the bracket shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, the handle is free to be rotated counterclockwise, but the portion 42 of the rod would bump against flanges 25 it it were attempted to rotate the handle in a clockwise direction. It will be noted that if the rod were positioned with the upper portion 42 in the stirrups 25, the handle could be rotated without restraint in either direction, and the upper portion would provide the axis or" rotation for the handle.

The intermediate portion 15 of the rod is provided at its outer end with an elongated eye h surrounding the parallel portions 42 and 44 of the outer handle portion 16. The eye 50 loosely surrounds those portions so that it may readily slide thereon between the two J-shaped members 26 and have considerable angling freedom to compensate for movements of the coupler. The inner end of the portion is also provided with an elongated hairpin portion consisting of spaced parallel portions 52 and 54 connected by a reverse bend 56. The hairpin portion 5254 and the eye portion 519 are connected by an angle bend as shown in FIG. 2 so that the eye portion is substantially vertically disposed and the hairpin portion is substantially horizontally disposed when the device is applied to a car as shown. The outer end of the portion 54 is welded to the portion 52 as indicated at 55.

The inner end of the rod portion 14 is provided with the usual hook portion 61) for attachment to the lock litter of the coupler and the remainder is a straight section of rod having at its outer end a downwardly facing U-strap member 62, the bend of which rests on rod 14 and is welded thereto and the spaced flanges of which overlap loosely the elongated hairpin portion of the intermediate portion 15. A cotter pin 64 extends between the spaced flanges intermediate the hairpin portions 52 and 54 and has mounted thereon a filler roller indicated at 66. Spaced inwardly of the member 62 is another U-strap member 68, facing upwardly, and the free edges of the spaced flanges of which are Welded to opposite sides of bar 14 as indicated at 7 ii. A cotter pin 72 is also provided for this member es extending between the flanges thereof intermediate 1 the portions 52 and 54 of the hairpin portion. A filler roller '74 is also provided on cotter 72 between arms 52 and 54. The rollers provide an anti-friction means when portion 14 moves longitudinally with respect to the portion 15. When the cotter pins 64 and 72 are removed, the part 14 may be slid longitudinally off the hairpin portion 5254 of the intermediate portion 15.

Thus when the hooked end 619 is applied to the lock litter of a coupler and the handle 41 is rotated counterclockwise, it will in turn impart similar rotation to the parts 15 and 14 and the lock lifter which will then operate the coupler. As the coupler head moves out of the car center sill under full draft, eye 50 will slide on arms 42 and 44, and the U-strap members 62 and as will slide on hairpin arms 52 and 54, thus compensating for the long draft of most modern car couplers.

For those couplers mounted in cushion underfrarnes with exceptionally long travel, the modification of the device shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 is adaptable.

The bracket for mounting the outer end of the rod of this modification is somewhat larger than the bracket of the former modification and comprises a Z-shaped plate having a horizontal flange 75, which underlaps the end sill of the car and is secured thereto in any desired manner. Issuing downwardly from the edge of this flange 75 is a vertical flange 76 in about the vertical plane of the end of the car. Flange 7 6 extends downwardly as shown in FIGURE 7 and is then turned outwardly into a rather elongated horizontal flange 77. For stability a strap 78 is riveted at one end to flange 77 adjacent to its outer margin and to the car end sill. Depending from opposite outer corners of flange 77 are a pair of J-shaped brackets, each provided with a horizontal upper flange 79, and a U-shaped stirrup portion 81), the axes of which are in alinement, and the alined axis of the stirrups diverges outwardly in relation to the car end.

In this modification the car end is indicated at 81, and 32 indicates the striker to which the car coupler 83 is assembled, which assembly is mounted in the car center sill. In this modification of the device the operating lever is composed of five parts. The outer handle end 84 is identical with handle end 16 of the first described modification, and comprises the hairpin portion consisting of arms 36 and 88 connected by a reverse bend 89. The next adjacent part 959 is substantially identical to the corresponding part 15 of the first modification and consists of the elongated eye 22 which non-rotatably surrounds the hairpin portion 3688 rather loosely to permit easy slidability thereon and angling with respect thereto. This eye portion 92 it will be noted is positioned at an angle to the horizontal because otherwise the excessive travel of the coupler would cause a binding action of the eye 92 on hairpin portion 888 in the extreme positions when rotated. Part W is likewise provided with an elongated hairpin portion comprising parallel rods 94 and 96 connected by a reverse bend 98. The third or middle part comprises an elongated hairpin portion consisting of parallel arms 1490 and 102 connected by a reverse bend 194. The arm 1612 is longer than the arm 100, and the free end of arm 1th is bent normal thereto as at 106 and welded to the arm 102 as shown in FIG. 6. At the outer end of arm 1112 is provided a downwardly facing U-strap 108, which seats on end of rod 102 and the spaced flanges of which overlap on opposite sides the arms 94 and 96. The spaced flanges are provided with axially registering holes so that a cotter pin 110 may be applied therethrough on which is a filler roller 112 which extends between the spaced flanges and also rolls on the cotter pin between the spaced arms 24 and Spaced slightly inwardly on arm 102 is another upwardly facing U-strap member 114, the spaced flanges of which also overlap on opposite sides the arms 94 and 96 and the free edges of which flanges are welded to the sides of arm 192. Axially alined holes are provided in these spaced flanges through which a cotter pin 116 is inserted, and a filler roller 118 is provided on this cotter pin between the flanges and between the rods 94 and 96. Thus the section comprising the rods 11%) and 1192 may slide on the section comprising the rods 94 and $6.

Another section comprises the rod 120 which has two spaced downwardly facing U-straps 122 seating thereon and secured thereto adjacent one end margin thereof. The flanges of these straps overlap the rods 1titl1tl2 and are provided with axially alined holes through which cotter pins 124 are applied, each having a filler roller 126 applied thereon extending between said flanges and between rods 1% and 102. Thus the rod 120 may slide on rods 1% and 1112. The other end of rod 120 is provided with an eye 128 which engages eye 1313 of a short rod 132 which extends through a pair of short plates 134 and 135, secured to the side of the optional lug cast to the lower surface on the knuckle side of the coupler. Upwardly 136 and downwardly 13% facing half bearings are provided respectively on opposing faces of the plates 134 and to provide non-friction surfaces in which the rod 132 may rotate. The inner end of the rod 132 is provided with a hook 141) which is applied to the lock lifter of the coupler.

It is thus apparent that I have devised a coupler operating rod which will operate a coupler installed in a cushioned underframc arrangement wherein the coupler has a.

very long travel of approximately 66 inches and wide swing. By operating the handle 84 in a counterclockwise direction, like rotation is imparted to the succeeding sections of the rod until the hook 140 causes the lock lifter of the coupler to be rotated, thus operating the coupler.

A further modification of the invention is shown in FIGS. 8-13 of the drawings. In order to relieve the last described modification of the invention of awkwardness in operation due primarily to the vertical spacing of the slidable parts, and to provide increased stability of the parts, in this modification the slidable parts are arranged in side by side relationship. As shown in FIG. 10, this modification has the appearance somewhat of an ordinary coupler operating rod. In these figures 150 indicates the end of the car to which the device is applied, and 152 indicates diagrammatically the sliding center sill and draft gear arrangement within which the coupler 154 is mounted. Since the coupler operating rod or lever is pivotally attached at one end to the lock lifter of the coupler for rotating and lifting said lock lifter to operate the coupler, and atthe other end is supported in a bracket attached to the end of the car adjacent a corner thereof and is provided with a depending handle for rotating the rod or lever, which handle must be maintained within 12 inches of the corner of the car, it is necessary that the rod or lever be constructed so as to contract and extend a sufficient distance to compensate for 66 inches of longitudinal travel of the coupler, together with a 15 side swing thereof. This modification of the invention is designed to meet these extreme conditions in a more practical and efiicient manner and with moderate cost.

The operating rod or lever is formed of a plurality of slidably united parts, and the bracket for supporting the outer end of the rod within the required 12 inch distance from the car side is shown generally at 156. This bracket comprises a Z-shaped member comprising a horizontal flange 158 underlappingly secured to the car end as shown in FIGURE 12, a vertical flange 168 depending from the outer edge of flange 158, a horizontal flange 162 extending outwardly from the lower edge of flange 160, said flange 162 terminating in a narrow downturned flange 164. Upon flange 162 are secured the ends of a U-shaped clevis 166, which clevis extends outwardly beyond the edge of the flange 164 to receive the outer end of the operating rod or lever.

Upon one side of the coupler 154 there is a flat narrow rectangular coupler lug indicated at 168. Flatwise secured against the coupler lug is a pair of similar plates 17t'l170, which together are of Y shape to enclose a pair of half bearings 172172. These bearings are axially alined with each other and with holes in the plates 17tl170 so that the inner coupler hook part 174 of the operating rod may pass therethrough and be rotatably supported thereby. The inner end of this part 174 is provided with a hook 176, which, as seen in FIGURE 9, is hooked into the lock lifter 178 of the coupler, the lock lifter being operated by rotation of the part 174. The inner end of said part 174 is formed into a pigtail-like twisted hook 180 which is hooked into the eye 182 formed on the inner end of an intermediate rod 184. Another similar straight section of rod 186 is welded thereto so that the two rod sections 184 and 186 together form a rod section of considerable length equalling more than one-third the extended length of the entire operating rod when compensating for the extreme draft position of the coupler.

Another intermediate section of rod is indicated at 191 it comprising a pressed channel member having a top flange 192, a bottom flange 184 and a web 196 connecting said flanges. The composite rod 184186 is supported flatwise against the outer surface of the web 196 and is slidingly and non-rotatingly held thereagainst by the two guides 198 and 2118 located adjacent the inner end of section 190. These guides are of strap metallic material which encompass rods 184-186, and are removably secured to the channel section 198. Under the rod 186 is a roller 2112 supported on a bolt 204 extending through the guide 198 and channel section 1911. Over the rod 184 is a like roller 2116 supported on a bolt 2118 extending through guide 200 and the channel section 190. At the outer end of the rod section 184-186 is a strap member 210 which forms a stop so that this section cannot be accidentally withdrawn from its slidable arrangement between the guides and channel section 190. Similarly a stop 212 is secured to the other end of rod section 184186 adjacent the eye 182 to form a stop against movement of the rod section in the other direction. Thus within the limits of the stops 210 and 212 the rod section 184-186 can non-rotatingly and slidingly move with respect to the channel section 1911.

Supported on the other side of the channel section 1% is a rod 214 which is parallel to the rod 184 but extends beyond theother end of the channel section and is turned upwardly and formed into an eye 216 which encircles the clevis 166 and extends downwardly behind the upturned portion of rod 214 into a depending handle 218. It should be noted that the handle 218 depends behind the upturned portion of rod 214 so that when the handle is moved to rotate the device in a counterclockwise direction the handle will move the upturned portion of the rod 214-before it. Secured to and located directly under the rod 214 is another rod 220 similar to rod 186 and the inner end of this rod is couterminous with the rod 214 and when in the position shown in FIG. 10 terminates adjacent the inner end of section 190 of the device. Spaced guides 222 and 224 (similar to guides 198 and 201)) encompass the rod section 214220 and hold the same slidingly and nonrotatingly against the other side of the channel section 1911. Guide 222 supports a roller 223 above rod 214, said roller being mounted on a bolt 230 extending through the guide 222 and the channel section 190 to thereby removably support the roller in position above the rod 214. A similar roller 232 is mounted on a bolt 234 extending through guide 224 and channel section 190, to support the roller under rod 221). Thus the inner approximate half of the outer rod section 214220, and the outer approximate half of the rod section 184-186 are non-rotatingly slidable with the channel section 190 therebetween. Stops, one of which is shown at 226, are provided for limiting the sliding movement of rod section 214-220 with respect to channel section 190. These stops for rod section 214-220 are similar to the stops 210 and 212, the one 226 being adjacent the handle 218 and the other one, not shown, being at the end of the rod section 214220.

The three parts 214-220, 1911, and 184-186 thus are slidingly but non-rotatingly joined and may extend as shown in FIG. 8, or contract as shown in FIG. 10, to compensate for the longitudinal and lateral movements of the coupler.

From the above teaching it wil be apparent to those skilled in the art that there have been provided several modifications of my invention any one of which will operate couplers mounted in a sliding center sill and cushion underframe arrangement, wherein the couplers have unusually long travel and wide side swing. In all modifications when the handle portion is operated to cause the device to orbit counterclockwise about the pivotal point of the handle, it will translate this motion to the hook, which in turn so actuates the locklifter in uncoupling the coupler.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An uncoupling lever for car couplers comprising a plurality of parts, one of said parts having a pair of elongated parallel rods connected by a U-bend, and a handle depending from the end of one of said rods and the end of the other of said rods being secured to the handle, another of said parts having a hook at one end for attachment to the lock lifter of a car coupler, an intermediate part having a flattened eye at one end slidably and nonrotatably engaging the parallel rods, and at the other end slidably and non-rotatably receiving the other end of said another part, whereby the intermediate part may slide and angle on said rods and the said another part may slide on the intermediate part to compensate for relative lateral and longitudinal movements of car body and coupler, and be rotated thereby to operate the coupler.

2. In an uncoupling device for car couplers, a bracket, a coupler operating device comprising a plurality of parts, one of said parts having elongated parallel rods connected by a U-band, a handle depending from the end of one of said parallel rods, stirrups on said bracket for rotatably receiving opposite ends of one of said parallel rods, another of said parts having means at its inner end for attachment to the lock lifter of a car coupler for operation of said lock lifter upon counterclockwise rotation of said device, an intermediate part having means at one end slidingly and non-rotatingly encircling said rods between said stirrups, means at the outer end of said another part for sliding and non-rotative engagement with the inner margin of said intermediate part, whereby the intermediate part may slide and angle on said parallel rods and said another part may non-rotatably slide on said intermediate part to compensate for relative lateral and longitudinal movements of the car body and cou ler, and be rotated thereby to operate the coupler.

3. In an uncoupling device for car couplers, comprising a bracket having a pair of alined stirrups thereon, a handle portion comprising a pair of elongated parallel bars mounted in said stirrups, and a handle depending from one of said bars for rotating said bars on the axis of one of them, a coupler operating portion comprising a hook at one end engageable with the lock lifter of a coupler for rotation thereof upon rotation of said coupler operating portion, and an intermediate portion having one end non-rotatably slidable on said parallel bars and the other end slidably and non-rotatably receiving the other end of said coupler operating portion whereby rotation of said handle portion correspondingly rotates the other portions and operates the coupler.

4. In an uncoupling device for car couplers, a bracket having a pair of spaced alined stirrups thereon, a plurality of portions, the outer portion mounted in said stirrups and having a handle depending therefrom for rotating same on its axis of rotation, the inner portion having a hook at one end for attachment to the lock lifter of a car coupler to operate same upon rotation thereof, and slidably and mutually non-rotatably mounted intermediate portions, slidable on said outer portion and engageable with said inner portion to impart rotatable motion thereto, whereby rotation of the outer portion will impart rotary motion to the other parts and to the lock lifter to operate said coupler.

5. The structure set forth in claim 4 wherein the inner end of one intermediate portion is non-rotatably connected to the outer end of said inner portion, the outer end of another intermediate portion is non-rotatably connected to the outer portion, and the other ends of said intermediate portions are slidably and mutually non-rotatably connected together so that rotary motion imparted by the handle will be translated therefrom through the respective parts to the lock lifter of the coupler.

6. An uncoupling lever for car couplers comprising a a plurality of parts, a handle part having a pair of elongated parallel rods, a handle issuing normally from the end of one of said rods, and the end of the other of said rods being secured to said handle, a coupler operating part comprising a hook at one end engageable with the lock lifter of a coupler for rotation thereof upon rotation of said coupler operating part, and an intermediate part having one end slidingly and non-rotatingly connected to said parallel rods and the other end slidingly and non-rotatingly receiving the other end of the coupler operating part.

7. An uncoupling lever for car couplers comprising a plurality of parts, a handle part having a laterally eX- tending portion and a handle issuing normally from one end of said laterally extending portion, a coupler operating part comprising a hook at one end engageable with the lock lifter of a coupler for rotation thereof upon rotation of said coupler operating part, and intermediate parts mutually non-rotatingly and slidingly connected together, one end of an intermediate part being connected to the other end of said coupler operating part to transmit rotary motion thereto, means slidingly and non-rotatingly connecting the laterally extending portion of the handle part to another intermediate part, whereby operation of said handle to rotate said laterally extending portion will translate said motion to the lock lifter of said coupler for operation of said coupler.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,182,207 Pries May 6, 1916 1,981,179 Kinne Nov. 20, 1939 2,356,336 Metzger Aug. 22, 1944 

1. AN UNCOUPLING LEVER FOR CAR COUPLERS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PARTS, ONE OF SAID PARTS HAVING A PAIR OF ELONGATED PARALLEL RODS CONNECTED BY A U-BEND, AND A HANDLE DEPENDING FROM THE END OF ONE OF SAID RODS AND THE END OF THE OTHER OF SAID RODS BEING SECURED TO THE HANDLE, ANOTHER OF SAID PARTS HAVING A HOOK AT ONE END FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE LOCK LIFTER OF A CAR COUPLER, AN INTERMEDIATE PART HAVING A FLATTENED EYE AT ONE END SLIDABLY AND NONSLIDABLY AND NON-ROTABLY RECEIVING THE OTHER END OF SAID ANOTHER PART, WHEREBY THE INTERMEDIATE PART MAY SLIDE AND ANGLE ON SAID RODS AND THE SAID ANOTHER PART MAY SLIDE ON THE INTERMEDIATE PART TO COMPENSATE FOR RELATIVE LATERAL AND LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENTS OF CAR BODY AND COUPLER, AND BE ROTATED THEREBY TO OPERATE THE COUPLER. 